Primavera
by Aplin
Summary: Sakura Haruno wakes up from a coma to a world so similar, yet so different from her own.
1. Awakening

The last thing she remembers is the slickness that clung to her skin as a deafening _crack_ rang out, like the sound a tree makes just as it's about to fall. She thinks she hears her name being called but her vision blurs into darkness before she can respond. In the split second before her mind ceases all thoughts, it whispers comfort to her. Inexplicably, calm washes over her and she lets her body go limp. The next second, she is drenched in panic.

The first thing she registers is the flexible tube inserted into the back of her hand as the erratic _beep_s of the heart monitor alert of her awakening. Her name is called by several unfamiliar voices from people she doesn't recognize but it feels like she should. She only recognizes one of them. "M-Mom?"

Teary green eyes not dissimilar from her own stare at her. Her mother smiles shakily, reaching out a hand to smooth down her hair mussed from days spent on a hospital bed. "Sakura… We've been waiting for you." Her mother says.

Sakura shifts her gaze to the others in the room. There is a man with dark brown hair cropped close to his scalp and an angular mustache with sideburns. He is familiar but at the same time not. Beside him is a pre-adolescent boy who is a stranger to her, but the way he looks at her suggests she meant more to him.

It takes her a while to identify the man. His hair may be different, but those eyes and the way he said her name tells her that he is her father. She blinks in confusion when she is suddenly engulfed in arms smaller than her own. The boy is silent as her parents gaze warmly.

"Who are you?" She asks.

The boy freezes, pulling back immediately. His eyebrows furrow as he gapes at her. "Are you serious right now?"

"I'll call the doctor," says her father, shock evident on his face as he hurries out of the room.

Her mother bursts with a steadier stream of tears. "Sakura, honey, this is your brother," her mother tells her, "Don't you remember him? Daiki, your brother?"

Daiki chokes down a sob. Sakura lifts her hand to comfort him, but he pushes off of her and runs out the door. "My brother?" Only then does she realize that although she clearly had no trouble communicating, she wasn't speaking in her language. So she does, in rapid succession: "_Where am I? What happened? Why - Why can't I remember… This can't be real, it must be a genjutsu._"

Mebuki looks at her daughter in devastation, swallowing harshly. "Let's wait for the doctor, dear."

Sakura brings her hands up to her face and sees soft hands. These were _not_ her hands. This was not her mother. Her breath quickens.

Her father, Kizashi, soon comes back with a doctor. Her supposed brother lingers behind the doorway. He hides when Sakura turns to look at him. The doctor starts speaking, but the only words that resonate with her were _coma_ and _retrograde amnesia._

The rest of the day is spent with her parents attempting to reassimilate her on all that she has missed, but it did little to help her connect what memory she had to her reality. Now and then, she would get flashes of what seems like two different sets of memories.

She is released from the hospital just a week later. Her memories are foggy, and some of them seem so _wrong_. Daiki remains his distance from her, but the way he looks at her makes her feel guilty.

They tell her that she could take all the time she needed to rest before starting school again, but this confuses her. School? Hadn't she graduated already?

Her mind felt like two pieces of different colored clay being forced to mix together. Some parts blend together, and some heavily contrast. Sakura lays on her bed - no, not _her_ bed, but they say it's her room so it must be her bed. But this isn't her room. Everything, even her own body (but is it really hers?) feels distorted.

Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. She had been in a comatose state for two months. She was taken to the hospital by someone who called himself Spider-Man.

Yesterday, a tall girl with curly hair visited her. Although Sakura didn't recognize her fully, her mouth opened with her realising and exclaimed, "MJ!" The girl, MJ, was surprised but pleasantly so. MJ introduced herself as Sakura's friend, and her family seemed to know her well.

MJ stayed the entire afternoon. Even though Sakura didn't really know her, MJ seemed to understand and didn't pressure her. She brought over a backlog of assignments that Sakura would have to submit by the end of the month and helped her start on some. Sakura managed to pick up fast after MJ explained certain concepts or formulas.

When MJ pulled out a black rectangular object from her pocket, Sakura peered at it curiously and asked, "What's that?"

MJ looked at her in astonishment. "It's a phone." Then a flash of pity crossed her face, but it was gone in a second. She tilted it to show her Japanese friend. "You can do a lot of things with it. You can talk to people, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read just about anything you want to learn."

They pushed Sakura's assignments aside ("I'll come back and help you tomorrow," said MJ.) and nibbled on the snacks Mebuki offered them as MJ answered all of Sakura's questions.

_Speaking of…_

Sakura takes out her phone, which her mother had given to her earlier, and peers at all of the tiny icons. Tapping on what MJ said was called _Google_, she types "amnesia."

_Retrograde amnesia_ pops up, as well as _dissociative amnesia_. She clicks on the latter.

_Dissociative amnesia is a type of dissociative disorder that involves inability to recall important personal information that would not typically be lost with ordinary forgetting. However, the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person's surroundings._

She clicks on a few articles. One of them mentions false memories, so she inputs this in the search engine as well. She reads about a man who lived a life while comatose. He had a wife, children, a job, and everything was perfect. Then, he wakes up.

Sakura is hit suddenly of more memories from a different life. In it, she has pink hair and glowing hands that can cause earthquakes and heal broken bones. In it, she has friends that can jump on trees and summon talking animals. In it, she has parents who can fight multiple people at the same time, but no brother. No MJ. No Spider-Man. No Avengers. No aliens.

A scream escapes from her throat. Her phone clutters to the floor.

How can these memories be fake when it feels so real? She stares at her hands. Her soft, uncalloused hands. She clenches them into fists and slams it on her desk, but it barely flinches.

"Sakura?" An uncertain voice calls from behind her closed door. It's Daiki. "Are you alright?"

She wipes at her eyes aggressively. "I'm fine."

Daiki is silent for a moment. "Okay. I'm just across the hall if you need me," he says quietly.

"Thank you," Sakura whispers.

She waits for his footsteps to disappear before she attempts to call on the energy she saw in her memories. But nothing happens. Memories of another life, of days spent with MJ and two other boys their age, poring over books and quizzing each other, of movie marathons and sleepovers, of brown eyes and shy smiles.

She lets these memories pass by, but the last one lingers. Her mind whispers the name _Peter_ to her.

Before she could stop herself, her hand dials a number. Sakura holds her breath. She nearly throws the phone across the room when she hears a hesitant voice say, "Hello?"

"H-Hello," she says. "Is this Peter? MJ… said you're one of my friends."

He is silent for a moment. "Yeah, it's me. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I don't remember much, honestly… but the doctor said there's a chance I'll regain all of my memories back."

"That's, that's great," Peter says, relief coating his words. "Sorry I didn't visit you."

"It's alright, really. I don't think I would've recognized you anyway," she says.

"Oh." His voice drops. "Um, why did you call me?"

Sakura scratches at her brow. "I don't know. Muscle memory, I guess. Just wanted to talk to someone."

"Oh," he says again. "So when are you coming back to school?"

"Tomorrow. I've already started working on some of my assignments, and I passed my time at the hospital by catching up on subjects. I'm trying my best but," her voice cracks, "it's kinda overwhelming."

"Don't rush yourself, Sak." He whispers gently. "You just got out of a coma, your body's still recovering."

"I think it did plenty of recovering during those two months."

"Still, Rome wasn't built in a day. You're progressing, which is great, I mean," he says, "I didn't expect you to call me, but here you are."

Her face reddens. "What do you mean?"

She could almost hear him smile. "We used to call each other and just talk whenever one of us couldn't sleep," Peter tells her. Images of countless nights pass through her thoughts.

"Really?" She asks. "Were we best friends?"

"We are," he says.

A stab of pain slices at her mind as she glances at her feet. "You used to buy me random socks."

"Yeah. Did MJ tell you that?"

"No." The corners of her mouth rise. "I remembered. Just now."

His voice is soft, but happy. "That's great. It means you'll recover in no time. Just believe in yourself. If you believe it, it can."

She gasps, dropping her phone as her head is assaulted with images of a blond-haired boy with whisker marks on his cheek and bright blue eyes. A masked man with one eye covered and silver hair that defies gravity. A boy with dark _dark_ eyes that turn into _blood red_.

"Sakura?" Peter's voice filters through the speaker of her phone.

Sakura picks it up and tells him, breathing heavily, "I gotta go."

"Wait -"

"See you tomorrow." She hangs up.

Last week, she woke up from a coma. But before she did, she lived a different life. A life of perseverance, camaraderie, death, and life.

She is Sakura Haruno, kunoichi of Konohagakure.


	2. Not in the Swing of Things Yet

The bell rings and everyone rushes to pack their things. The teacher at the front raises his voice to remind them of their homework. Peter keeps an eye on a fair-skinned girl with a dark brown bob as he hoists his backpack over his shoulder. He notes with mild panic that she is turning to face his direction and he promptly drops under the table.

Ned rolls his eyes, waving at the girl with an exasperated smile. She smiles back with a hint of confusion and leaves the room. "She's gone, you can stop cowering," he deadpans.

"I'm not cowering!" Peter denies, peeking over the table. Ignoring the weird look his teacher directs at him, he and Ned proceed to walk to their lockers. He sighs, hanging his head back. "I just can't face her, not yet. It's my fault she got into a coma."

"It is _not_ your fault," says Ned. "You were in Germany, remember?" Imagine Ned's surprise the night before when he accidentally finds out that his best friend is actually the vigilante from YouTube, Spider-Man. He took every opportunity he could to ask Peter whatever question came to mind.

After the teenage crimefighter quickly shot down every absurd assumption Ned had, he explained how he got his powers and filled him in on recent events.

"If I wasn't in Germany, none of this would've happened to her!" Peter shoots back.

He twists the code on his locker in a flurry and opens it with a touch of aggression. He takes a deep breath to calm himself, eyes automatically flying to a polaroid he keeps on his locker door. In it, he has his arm over the shoulder of Sakura while she poses with a peace sign.

"You saw what happened to Delmar's," Peter murmurs. "I was there last night and even then I couldn't prevent it from happening. In fact, it probably wouldn't have happened at all if I didn't intervene in the robbery."

Ned pats him on his back as Peter glumly stares at the polaroid. "Hey, man, you saw something was wrong and did your best. At least now you know what you should've done better so that next time something like that happens you'll be prepared."

Peter listens, a tiny smile making its way on his face. Ned clamps his hands on Peter's shoulders. "'Let the past die,'" he says then pauses, looking at the paler boy expectantly.

"'Kill it, if you have to.'" Peter grins at his best friend in gratitude, then they slip onto their secret handshake.

"What's up, losers?" MJ greets. She raises an eyebrow when Peter slams his locker shut. Behind her is Sakura, who smiles at them in greeting.

"Just talking about…" Ned pauses when Peter gives him a look. "Uhh homecoming."

Sakura tilts her head. "What's homecoming?"

Again, Peter is hit with guilt. Sakura had started attending classes again earlier that week and although she was catching up pretty fast with the topics she missed, it seems like her amnesia affected all kinds of memories. Just yesterday, Sakura had asked who Iron Man was and if he ironed clothes for a living. She also spoke in Japanese at times without realizing it, which Peter didn't even know she could do because she never did it before.

"It's an event to celebrate the first football game after classes start," answers MJ, "and an excuse for teenagers to wear fancy clothes and dance in a smelly gym."

The dark-skinned girl turns to face the boys. "Asked anyone yet?"

They both shake their head, although Ned glances at Peter with an indecipherable look. MJ nods, walking ahead towards gym class. "Good, we're going as a group."

Sakura scurries along, smiling at them both. "See you guys at the gym."

Ned shakes his head in amusement when Peter gazes after the girl, her bright red sweater making it easy to pick her out from the crowd. The shorter boy doesn't even notice when Liz, a senior he's had a crush on since last year, walks by.

"Liz just waved at you," Ned tells Peter.

Peter doesn't even blink until Sakura rounds the corner. "What?"

Ned raises his eyebrows at this, half-surprised and half-amused.

Ignoring him, Peter walks ahead to follow the girls into the gymnasium. From the distance, Peter can see Sakura tie her hair up into a tiny ponytail. Was she always that cute?

Sakura forces her upper body to raise while MJ holds onto her bent knees - although it looks more like the curly-haired girl is using those as a bookstand. Utterly frustrated with her body's lack of stamina, she presses her lips into a thin line and pushes herself to keep going. Diagonal to their mat is Peter and Ned, who have yet to cease their whispered conversation.

"I'm pretty sure you already passed the required number of situps," MJ drones from behind her book. "But by all means, continue."

"Exercise only makes a difference when it starts to hurt." Sakura pants after every word.

"Since when did you like exercising?"

Sakura lets her back hit the mat for a beat to reply, "Since I woke up."

"Today or last week?" MJ asks.

"Last week."

MJ shakes her head and makes a disgusted noise.

"So," Sakura says breathily. "Are we still on for that sleepover tonight?"

"Mm, can't. I'll be busy doing nothing." MJ looks at the sweaty girl with a playful smirk as she turns a page.

Sakura rolls her eyes. "If 'nothing' entails watching Buzzfeed Unsolved until 2AM, we can do nothing together."

MJ opens her mouth to reply, but a sudden voice interrupts her. She and Sakura turn to face Ned when he shouts, "Peter knows Spider-Man!"

Both girls glance at each other with a slight look of 'What the hell?'

Peter scrambles to his feet, mindful of the many pairs of eyes watching him. "No, I don't! I mean -"

Sakura lays her hands flat on the floor, sweat dripping on her slightly above average forehead as she curiously surveys the scene before her.

Flash, who Sakura had the _pleasure_ of being reintroduced to earlier that week when he told her it was "fine if she dropped off the decathlon team since she would only be a liability," immediately perks at the opportunity to humiliate Peter. He slips down the rope and cockily approaches them while saying, "They're friends like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends."

"Captain America's the guy from that box with moving pictures, right?" Sakura asks MJ, who sighs at her friend's description of the TV monitor.

"I've - met him, yeah," Peter nervously says. "A couple times. It's - um - through the… Stark internship." His voice gradually lowers until the end.

Flash tilts his head. "Really?" The look on his face suggests that he doesn't find this believable.

"Yeah, well, I'm _not supposed to talk about it_." Peter turns to glare at Ned, who only stares at him open-mouthed. Meanwhile, Sakura has long since returned to her sit-ups after she glanced at her watch and saw that class would end soon, although she does keep on listening as Flash taunts Peter.

MJ quirks an eyebrow when Peter seems to consider bringing his supposed friend Spider-Man to Liz's party. She glances at Sakura who looks like she sucked on a piece of lemon.

The bell rings and everyone stops their activities. Sakura groans and stands wobbily, leaning onto MJ as they walk to the girls' locker room.

Sakura rubs at the sweat on her skin with a small towel, with a hint of aggression that has MJ eyeing her with a knowing look. She chews on her lip then pouts before turning to the quieter of the two. "You know… I don't think I remember going to a party."

MJ rolls her eyes.


	3. Without You Things Go Hazy

Author's note: First of all, I am completely surprised by the warm reception! A lot has happened in my life which prevented me from writing, but reading your reviews have rekindled my desire to write! Let me know if you have any ideas or questions. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Sakura is unable to explain the warm, tingly feeling in her stomach as she and MJ walk up to the house. The music only seems to get louder with every step. Ahead of them, she can recognize Betty Brant chattering excitedly ("Do you think Spider-Man's gonna show up!?") to Liz who flicks her eyes to the newcomers and smiles.

She waves feebly to the senior before MJ drags her to the kitchen. Her curls disappear behind the refrigerator door. "You want anything?"

"No thank you," Sakura declines. She rubs her arms while looking around. In the distance, a crash can be heard followed immediately by laughter. "So… This is a party."

She sees Flash bobbing his head to the music and fiddling with the controls. The stream of partygoers don't seem to be decreasing. Alcohol is passed around.

"Don't see what the fuss is about, if you ask me," MJ tells her. She rinses an apple and bites into, looking behind the shorter girl. "Look who's here."

Sakura whips her head around. She first sees Ned and his hat, then she sees Peter. The butterflies return full force. "H-Hey!" Her voice squeaks.

"Can't believe you guys are at this lame party," drones MJ.

Peter locks eyes with Sakura, both of them struck frozen for some reason. The spell is broken when Peter cracks a smile at her, which she returns.

Ned looks at MJ, bemused. "You're here too."

MJ raises an eyebrow. "Am I?" She says mysteriously, then leaves with a crunch of an apple.

Sakura doesn't want to leave yet. She wants to stay. Here. With him. But a voice calls out to the two boys and she feels her feet carry her next to MJ.

Sighing, she follows her friend to the couch. "You're right, this is a lame party."

MJ bumps her shoulder with Sakura's as comfort. "Just talk to him. Please. I cannot stand another day with you guys gazing longingly after each other."

"I don't _gaze_ after him!" Sakura denies, her ears resembling tomatoes. Her eyes dart after the brown-haired boy for a second, but he's too busy talking to Liz to notice. "Besides, he keeps on avoiding me."

They both wince when Flash starts taunting Peter. They watch as the latter eventually leaves.

"Well this has been a complete waste of my time," MJ mumbles.

Sakura thinks the same silently, but outwardly flashes her friend a smile. "The night is young, MJ." She dashes off to the kitchen.

MJ furrows her eyebrows as the half-Japanese girl hands her a red solo cup filled with alcohol. "This is so unlike you. Are you okay?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura tilts her head back and drinks it all in one gulp. She beams at MJ. "See? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

MJ begins to say something ("Wha-") but then Sakura snatches her cup and gulps it down as well. She regards her friend with curious eyes. Already, the short girl is back with more alcohol - only this time she brought a whole bottle. MJ's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Woah, Saku-"

"Relax, would you?" Sakura pours herself another cup. "I honestly don't feel tipsy."

"Sakura, don't be a dumbass over some boy! This is the first time you've ever drank, and your parents would kill you if you go home like this."

Sakura blinks. "Really?" Was it really the first time she drank alcohol? Her brain says no, but the vomit that bursts from her mouth says _yes_. Luckily, she manages to grab a vase. She pities the poor soul who would have to clean it up.

"Can we go already?" MJ sighs, but dutifully helps Sakura pull her hair back.

Words get stuck in Sakura's throat as she is hit with a memory of a large-bosomed blonde woman, a girl with short raven locks, and her (with _pink_ hair!) toasting glasses and chugging bottle after bottle. Her stomach makes a gurgling noise as she stands to her feet.

"I think I just remembered something…"

But that can't be a memory. Because Sakura doesn't have pink hair. Nor does she have toned arms, or calloused hands, or muscled thighs. That vision of her could only be fake. Something her mind made up while she was in a coma.

"Nevermind, it's nothing."

MJ hoists one of Sakura's arms over her shoulder and together they start walking to the door. They pass by Flash who was starting a chant with their classmates. "When I say Penis, you say Parker!"

Sakura finds herself shouting to him as MJ drags her away, "Hey, have you ever noticed how your initials are literally E.T.? That explains so much, really."

Flash splutters behind them. On the way, they pass Ned who was talking to someone on the phone. "Ooh is that Peter?"

"Yes," Ned says in surprise, "Wait, no-"

Sakura grabs the phone and presses it to her face, "Heeey, Pete! Where are youu?"

_"Sakura? Are you-are you _drunk_?" _

"No, I'm not even tipsy I promise!" She hiccups. "I miss you Peteyy."

_"I-I-" _

Sakura feels the urge to vomit once again. She grabs around blindly for a container. When she's finished, she realizes that she puked on Ned's hat. "Oh… I'm so so sorry, Ned."

MJ lets out an aggravated sigh. Ned looks like someone kicked his puppy. "It's alright, Sak."

"I'll buy you a new one," she tells him. "Maybe even two. Or five. Or ten! You could share them with Peter."

Ned shakes his head, sharing a look with MJ. "It's really fine. You guys take care."

"Bye Neeed." Sakura giggles as MJ pulls her away.

They walk home together, having been neighbors since Sakura moved last year. But Sakura doesn't remember that, MJ thinks with a frown. She keeps an eye on the drunk ("I'm not even _hic_ tipsy!") girl as they near their homes.

It had only been an hour into the party when Sakura got drunk, so thankfully her parents wouldn't be home yet. MJ reaches for the keys on Sakura's back pocket. The latter giggles and says in a whisper, "That's tickley."

Once the door is unlocked, MJ drags her friend inside. They quietly creep past Daiki's room where zombie screams can be heard. The curly-haired girl sighs as they finally enter Sakura's room.

Sakura jumps on her bed. She bursts into tears. MJ feels a mixture of exasperation and a migraine coming together.

"It hurts, MJ," cries Sakura. "My head is constantly in pain. I can't distinguish between what's real and what's not. My mind tells me that we used to have movie nights every Friday night, although it doesn't tell me why we don't do that anymore. It also tells me that animals can talk and that I don't have a brother. It's like I have two completely different sets of memories!"

Sakura directs her swollen-eyed stare to MJ, who fidgets. "And you guys won't tell me what really happened the day I got into an accident. It's always some vague _bullshit_."

MJ sits down beside her. "I'm sorry. We're just trying not to overload you with it," she explains, "especially since you're already cramming tons of schoolwork information inside your brain."

"Why does Peter avoid me?"

MJ looks at her with uncertainty. "I think he feels guilty."

"Why?"

"The day you got into the accident… You were supposed to meet with Peter for a project but he didn't show up. Apparently he was away on his internship and forgot to tell you to reschedule. Before you could leave, the cafe you were in was being robbed. You were so stupidly brave." MJ's voice wavers in a brief moment of emotion. "You stood up when the robber pointed his gun at an old man. The robber pushed you back."

As MJ was saying this, Sakura sat quiet, listening. Her mind conjured hazy images as MJ went on.

"You hit your head pretty bad."

"Oh," says Sakura.

"When Peter got back, he visited you everyday. He talked to you while you were… asleep."

"Why won't he talk to me now?" Sakura asks. "It looks like he wants to, but at the same time like he doesn't."

"I don't know, Sak. Maybe you gotta make the first move."

They stare out her window, where the stars wink at them. Sakura presses a hand to her head. Neither of them notices the weak greenish glow it emits.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura waits near Ned's locker to apologize. She's been kicking herself mentally since she woke up.

"Hey."

Sakura jumps. Wide green eyes connect with shy brown ones. "Peter!"

"Uh, Ned told me you got pretty drunk last night," Peter says. "I didn't even know you drank."

Sakura nods her head jerkily. "Yeah, yeah, no. It was a mistake. I thought I could handle it."

"Yeah…"

They were silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry!" "Wanna hang out?" They say at the same time.

Sakura blinks, tilting her head. "Sorry for what?"

"Just… everything," Peter whispers. "I know we haven't been as close as we were before… you know."

Sakura shrugs her shoulders as her fingers fiddle with the hem of her shirt. "That's the thing, though. I didn't know how close we were before, because you won't talk to me or help me remember."

"That's true," the brown-haired boy admits. He can't look her in the eyes. Then he shifts his gaze up and suddenly they're locked in a spell once again. He can't help but note that her eyes looked greener than the last time he saw her. He clears his throat. "How have you been?"

"Fine." Sakura can't find another word for it. "I guess."

"Let me make it up to you." Peter looks at her hopefully, fingers tight around the straps of his backpack. He feels nervous when she doesn't reply. Tentatively, he lowers his left hand to touch her right hand. He doesn't understand why he's doing this, but he intertwines their fingers together.

An image of them shoulder to shoulder as they watch a movie in his room with Ned and MJ flashes quickly in her mind.

Sakura opens her mouth in quiet surprise. She slowly brushes her thumb with his. "Okay."

A smile stretches Peter's face, which Sakura reciprocates. They hastily let go of each other's hands when they hear Ned call for them in the distance.

"I'll call you tonight," Peter promises.

Sakura beams at him. "Can't wait."

* * *

He didn't call her. She chucks an eraser to the wall.

Sighing, Sakura returns to her notes, deciding to study for nationals instead. They would be going to Washington, D.C. the following day. She had a good grasp on all of the subjects, but it never hurts to review.

She doesn't see the crack where she threw the eraser.


	4. Don't You Know Me By Now?

_It was like watching two different movies in a split screen. On the left, a pink-haired girl. On the right, one with dark brown hair. Their surroundings seem to blur. Sakura can only see the back of each girl's head, both of which seem to move in unison as a hand appears despite the blurriness._

_Both of these happened at the exact same time: The pinkette gurgles out a scream as the hand goes through her stomach, while the brunette lets out a gasp as her head hits the floor. They fall simultaneously. Blood drips down at the same pace._

_Everything seems to spiral. The images of both girls are sucked into what seems to be a black hole and everything succumbs to darkness._

_The mirror image of Sakura materializes in front of her. She drinks in the appearance of the other Sakura, noting the blood that stands out in contrast to the black and white coloring. On the other Sakura's forehead is a set of characters that reads "Inner Sakura" - a name that sparks recognition._

"_Who are you?" The world is quiet except for her whisper._

_Inner Sakura replies, "I am you."_

_She raises her hand and Sakura involuntarily mirrors this action. When they clasp hands, Sakura _sees_. Her knees tremble as her heart beat rapidly in her chest, the sound only becoming louder as a voice - _her _voice - echoes everywhere. Like an endless bucket filled with water, memories pour over her and flood into the space around her. Wherever she looks, a different memory plays out for her._

_When the water reaches her chin, she tilts her head back. Suddenly, the water seems to defy gravity as it is pulled into the black sky. Time stops and each memory is presented to her as frozen drops of water._

_Inner Sakura lets go of her hand, but the effect on Sakura lingers. "Don't you know me?"_

_Stiffened, Sakura doesn't answer. Inner Sakura repeats herself: "Don't you know me by now?"_

"_I don't understand. Why am I here?"_

_Something pulls her to one particular drop. She touches it with her fingertip. Colors are brought to life, almost blindingly bright._

_This is what she sees:_

_She sees herself - her brown-haired dainty self - enter the cafe alone. She walks up to the counter and orders two cups of cappuccino. She sits down at a nearby table and fiddles with her phone as she waits for her name to be called out. Just as she sends a text ("Hey, I'm here. Where are you?" She thinks for a moment before adding a smiley emoji.) to someone with the contact name PetPark, screams slice through the air inside the establishment. She finds herself instinctively dropping to the floor as a masked man brandishes a firearm to the barista paralyzed in fear._

"_Open it up," he hisses. He points the gun to the cash register. The barista blubbers but follows his command. Body shaking, the barista pushes the necessary buttons. The masked man keeps the barrel pointed at her._

_He looks around the cafe to see all but one on the floor. An old man trembles as he tries to slowly lower himself. The masked man growls, and swings the gun to aim at the old man._

_The people in the cafe cry out in protest, but one look from the man shuts them up. Sakura grits her teeth. Despite her fear, she stands and picks up the chair she was sitting on. A logical person would have stayed put and called 911, but Sakura was incapable of thinking logically for the only thing she could think of is how that old man could be anybody's grandfather._

_The man shouts at the elder, whose joints seem to lock in place. "Get down!" He repeats this phrase multiple times, his anger increasing each time. He cocks the dangerous weapon in his hands. "I SAID GET DOWN!"_

_As soon as he shouts this, Sakura smashes the metal chair to the side of his head with a resounding noise. The gun drops to the floor, fortunately without setting off._

_She squeals in shock when the man swipes at her feet, landing on her side. The other customers, composed mainly of students and elderly, watch anxiously. The man grabs her hair and pulls roughly. Sakura could feel a few strands rip from her scalp. "Bitch!" The man swears at her. She struggles against his stronger arms._

_He brings her head down to meet the hard floor with a CRACK._

* * *

Sakura sits up on her bed, breathing heavily. The phantom pain from her head lingers. She brings a hand up to soothe it.

She didn't understand how or why, but when two version of herself from two different dimensions were hit at the same time it must've triggered something that brought one version into the body of the other.

It didn't feel like one version taking over; more like both versions merging together. From the moment she woke up, Sakura had great difficulty remembering anything and each memory always brought sharp pains to her head. Now, everything seemed clear. Memories from both versions now reside in her mind.

But the question is: are the memories from her other self real?

One way to find out.

A glance at her clock tells her it was only around four o'clock in the morning. Any other day, she might've just went back to sleep. Today, she has an urge to prove to herself that she _was_ capable of causing earthquakes with a single punch and healing people from the brink of death.

She approaches her wall. Placing her hands on the flat surface, she breathes in and out deeply with her eyes closed. She imagines a bright ball of chakra inside of her and reaches out to it. Eyes now open, she lifts one foot and presses it to the wall. She lifts the other one.

Sakura can barely contain the giddiness she feels when she stuck to the wall. She walks up the wall and ceiling until her hair is hanging around her face. She crouches and jumps lightly to the ground.

While her chakra control might be working perfectly, she didn't have the same stamina and physique she remembers having. It was an improvement from when she first woke from the coma, but still not enough. Fortunately, she had been exercising daily although without any explanation as to why. Now, Sakura understands that her body must've realized she needed proper exercise should she regain her former strength and abilities.

Her mind working overdrive to plan where and when she could train, Sakura starts to count push-ups. Her strength could be enhanced with chakra, but Tsunade taught her that raw strength could be just as powerful. She remembers Rock Lee briefly with fondness.

And so, this is how she spends one and a half hour of her morning.

When her phone rings, she realizes it was six o'clock and time to get ready. She takes a quick shower and dresses herself in an oversized gray shirt tucked into a high-waisted skirt the same color as her Decathlon blazer jacket. She slips on a pair of socks that looked like kittens and black flats.

Before leaving, she stares at the mirror for a moment and wonders if Midtown High allowed students to dye their hair.

Sakura grabs her flashcards and places them inside her bag, then locks her room behind her. She walks into the kitchen and greets her family with a chirpy, "Morning!"

"Morning, sweetie," her mother greets back while placing pancakes into a plate.

Her father flashes her a big grin as he ate his breakfast. It was still a bit disconcerting to see him without his big cherry blossom-shaped hair. Her brother mumbles out his greeting.

Sakura realizes how Daiki must have felt when she couldn't remember him. "Hey kiddo, when I get back from Washington do you wanna hangout at the arcade?"

Daiki perks up. "Really?"

"Of course!" Sakura replies. "We got a lot of catching up to do, don't we?"

Even though Daiki was only her brother in this dimension, her merged self's love for him only doubled since she regained her memories. They finish their breakfast in a jolly mood.

Later on, she meets MJ in front of the school, standing with the other Decathlon members. Her friend nods at her behind a copy of Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov. (She makes a mental note to borrow that book later on; it seemed interesting.)

Sakura didn't expect him to be there, but she still feels disappointed when she couldn't find Peter. Just as they start trickling into the bus, he's suddenly there.

"Hey, It's Peter." Abe exclaims.

"Guys!" Peter jogs up to them. He glances at Sakura. "I was hoping maybe I could rejoin the team," he tells Liz.

Flash pushes through the front. "No. No way. You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone," Flash spits to Peter.

"Welcome back, Peter!" Mr. Harrington interjects obliviously. Flash frowns. "Flash, you're back to first alternate."

"What?!"

Abe makes it clear to him: "He's taking your place." Everyone else chortles at Flash's expense.

MJ sighs beside Sakura and decides to intervene before they became late. "Guys, can we go already? I was hoping to get some light protesting in front of an embassy before dinner."

Mr. Harrington considers this for a moment. "Protesting is patriotic," he says. "Let's get on the bus."

Sakura bows her head to avoid looking at Peter and goes ahead of him.

The whole ride to Washington is spent reviewing in quickfire. Sakura's ears rang from the neverending ring of the call bell. Peter ends up sitting in front of MJ and Sakura, so it was hard for her not to stare at the back of his head.

She manages to answer a few questions herself, thankful that she regained her memory on her studies as well.

Before she got into a coma (It was NOT an accident, no matter how everyone tried to sugarcoat it to her. A man _smashed_ her head to the floor. She was lucky she was alive!), Peter had already begun distancing himself from her. Even before he got his internship. He was telling the truth when he doesn't her they used to call each other every night, but before she woke up they already went weeks without really hanging out together. It was always one excuse after another.

So maybe she shouldn't be surprised he wasn't making an effort to talk to her anymore. It didn't really matter anyway. She has bigger problems than Peter Parker.


End file.
